Minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc are important to child development, but labels on most vitamin supplements and fortified foods marketed to children report recommended daily intake (RDI) for adults. For children, the window between mineral deficiency and overdose is small, and in some cases (i.e., zinc) the child tolerable upper intake is less than the adult RDI. A thorough understanding of the mineral content in vitamins and fortified foods marketed for child nutrition will enable a better understanding of their potential combined toxicity to children. In this project, different varieties of common prenatal and children's vitamins and fortified “o”-shaped oat cereal were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy and compared to the nutrition label. Results showed that iron, calcium, and zinc content in both vitamins and fortified cereals were inconsistent with labeling. Full details of the iron, calcium, and zinc content in vitamins and cereals will be presented.
